Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) is Flossbach Von Storch AG’s 7th Largest Position

Flossbach Von Storch AG lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,149,611 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 135,821 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 4.6% of Flossbach Von Storch AG’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Flossbach Von Storch AG’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,007,098,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 132.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 333 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 3.0 %

Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $3.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $105.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,999,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,677,717. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $114.42 and a 200-day moving average of $107.59. Abbott Laboratories has a one year low of $89.67 and a one year high of $121.64. The stock has a market cap of $183.76 billion, a PE ratio of 32.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.74.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on ABT shares. TheStreet upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $128.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.14.

About Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.